The Fanciest and Most Valuable Easter Eggs in the World

When we celebrate the end of Lent, we attend Mass and have a nice family dinner. Or we may decide to hold an Easter Egg hunt at our home or at a party somewhere for the kids. But all around the Christian world, Easter is a holiday that has fascinated artists who have been inspired by what it stands for.

On the other end of the commercial spectrum, there are also those who have used many holidays as a way to create beauty and sell it for a handsome sum. Some jewelry manufacturers, for example, have used Easter as a theme; it’s something you can see promoted time and again in their works.

Let’s work on that thought for a moment: here are a few trinkets that you can get for someone who has everything. Talk about some really unique gifts stoked in tradition, history and beauty: I thought I would provide some interesting bits of trivia for you about Easter and its eggs.

Russian Easter Eggs

Easter eggs are well-known Russian memorabilia whose fame outside of this country is probably second only to painted wooden matryoshka dolls. Lately, however, the interest toward the Easter egg has been of a special nature. It is explained by its somewhat illegal status for 70 years. Antique Easter eggs were stored away in different museums, almost inaccessible to the public. It goes without saying that in Soviet times the good tradition of giving and receiving artistically painted Easter eggs on the bright holiday of Christ’s Resurrection almost disappeared.

In the late 1980s forgotten customs and rituals returned, including the old Russian tradition of a triple kiss and the giving of an Easter egg.

Easter eggs are an attribute of one of the most important Christian holidays: the day of prayer for the miraculous Resurrection of the crucified Jesus Christ.

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Faberge Eggs

For the wealthy collector among us, here are some of the finest Easter eggs in the world. If you have a few thousand to several million dollars to spare, you could set up a collection of these items. For those with more modest budgets, you can check home catalogs for something more affordable.

Crafted in the shops of Peter Carl Fabergé from 1885 to 1917, the eggs were designed primarily at the behest of Russian Tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II as annual Easter gifts for Tsarinas Maria and Alexandra.

Not all of the eggs were made for the Russian imperial family. Alexander Kelch, a Russian gold magnate and industrialist, gave his wife Barbara seven eggs between 1898 and 1904. The Duchess of Marlborough, formerly Consuelo Vanderbilt and the wealthiest young woman at the turn of the 20th century, also commissioned an egg of her own.

Crafted Easter Eggs

These are beautiful Russian Easter Eggs inspired by the work of Peter Carl Faberge, the world famous Russian jeweler and purveyor of elegance to the Russian Court and the Tsars. Created by Russian artists, the exquisite hand-painted icon eggs, are termed ovo-art, depicting Our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Mother of God, and many of the venerated saints.

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Holey Easter Eggs

Can you believe how “holey” this Easter egg has turned out?

Move over, Faberge. Modern master Franc Grom creates and sells eggs that may outshine the 19th-century Russian jeweler’s Easter bling. Shown at work on Wednesday in Vrhnika, Slovenia (map), Grom uses an electric boring tool to drill approximately 2,500 to 3,500 holes in an eggshell. Inspired by traditional Slovenian designs, he has been known to pierce a shell as many as 17,000 times.

Robert,
I regret I will not be able to directly help you discover who made your egg as I am not an expert on Russian eggs (I’m just a blogger). But have you checked with local antique or other heirloom or crafts experts in your area? If you cannot find one in your town, then you will need to search for collectible experts. You may want to contact the people behind these “expert” sites who may have more information for you since they specialize in your particular collectible. Good luck with finding this information.

Dasha LazarevaApril 7, 2008 at 7:05 am

Painting eggs is my favourite thing on Easter. In traditional way and also I invent something new every ear. I have never thought that Russian Easter Eggs are so world known.
It is the first time I learned about Franc Grom Easter Eggs and I find them really tremendous.
Thank you very much for your article. ^_^

AlexJanuary 9, 2009 at 1:54 pm

You should check out this website, I think they will be able to help you, they specialize in Russian collectibles. Just google: Russian Gifts and Collectibles.

RoseJanuary 27, 2009 at 1:16 am

These are so cute. These are great collectibles. Thanks for sharing.

Rose.

jayne keownMarch 9, 2009 at 6:46 pm

i love russian eggs as well!

LizaMay 18, 2009 at 7:20 am

Painting funny faces on Easter eggs is my fav thing. I still remember the way I used to collect and decorate all painted eggs in a beautiful basket when I was small. The images posted here deliver some great ideas to paint eggs.

LindaDecember 1, 2009 at 11:57 am

The Easter Eggs displayed in this post are absolutely gorgeous. No wonder they are prized possessions. Treasure of this kind enrich the world and uplift the spirit. Thanks for an informative post.

larrisMay 21, 2010 at 5:04 pm

I love russian eggs, they are just amazing. I am an expert on russian eggs so i do know a great deal of information on the true art forms. The best part of my job is the feeling when you rub a Russian egg up against your cheek. that is truely when you feel the detail these artists put into their work.

mary elizabeth alejoApril 7, 2012 at 5:46 am

Thank you for the posts and trivia, they are useful and fascinating to me, a fellow “egg artist”. Check out my hand-painted eggs, in my fb account: Mary Elizabeth Alejo.